Islamabad

29th June
We were intending to bypass Islamabad and start up the Karakoram Highway but the flooding down south meant we had to make enquiries regarding alternative routes. The Tourist Board were very good and phoned Quetta to get an update. The prognosis was not good. The road that is safe for foreigners has been washed away and bridges damaged. The China option is still there but the consensus is that the roads should be okay by the time we reached the area. We will keep in touch with the Quetta PTDC for updates.
Islamabad has a camping ground. The weather has cooled down due to the rain and tonight will be our first night sleeping in the van. We are both looking forward to it. There's 3 other vans in the park, a French, & 2 German plus some motor bikes with Spanish & German riders. It's just like old times swapping info on where we will be going and where they intend travelling to. Picking up the places to stay and where to avoid. Usually the evenings are spent having a chat over a bottle of wine but as this is a dry country we will have to forgo that pleasure. There's an army contingent to guard us here, I wish they would spend more time cleaning the messy kitchen and toilets than spending the day praying and lolling about.